Electrocapillary apparatus.



PATENTED AUG. 29, 1905.

J, T ARMSTRONG & A. ORLING. ELEGTBOCAPILLARY APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED IBKZ. 904,

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ELECTROOAPILLARY APPARATUS.

Specification of Letters Patent;

Patented Aug. 29, 1905.

Application filed February 2, 1904. Serial No. 191,675.

To a]! mil/om "1' 6 may concern:

lJU it known that we, JAMES Tanno'r'rou A uns'rnoxo, a subject of the King of England, and Axial. ()RLINU, a subject of the King of Sweden and Norway, both residing at London, England, have invented new and useful 1mprovcmonts in Elcctrocapillary Apparatus, of which the following is a specification.

()ur in ven tion relates to apparatus employ ed to detect the presence of electrical currents,

and has for its object improvements whereby.

extremely weak currents may be detected and caused to actuate other apparatus or mechanism directly or through one or more relays.

ln carrying out our invention we make use of the oluclrocapillary force exerted at the surfaces in contact of certain dissimilar fluid conductors (such as mercury and dilute acid or asolution of spirits of wine and potassium iodid) when an electric current flows through one to the other. This force we employ to disturb the balance existing between the hydrostatic pressure of a column of one of the fluid conductors and a capillary force which normallysupports such column, whereby the said column may be raised or caused to flow and a relay-circuit may be closed.

The normal condition of the apparatus is one of cquipoise, and the effect of the electrocapillary force is to disturb the equilibrium. it is therefore manifest that the displacement (which always accompanies the passage of even the weakest currents) must cause a preponderance on one side that will effectually operate the apparatus.

According to our invention the fluid coni'luctors are contained by separate receptacles which communicate with each other through a tube or other suitable channel, as is hereinafter particularly described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 shows our invention in vertical section diagrammatically, and Fig. 2 illustrates a modification thereof hereinafter referred to.

According to our invention we employ a chamber c, containing mercury c and provided with a tubular legf which is constricted at its and If, so as to normally resist the flow of mercury from the said chamber. The log f" dips into the funnel-shaped leg of a siphon [1", whose lower extremity is closed but fora The short leg of the central perforation b. siphon Ifdips into the chamber I), that con-.

tains dilute acid or other suitable liquid (Z, from which the long log is kept supplied, while its escape through the annular space between its lower extremity and that of the leg f x is prevented by the surface tension of the dilute acid. Sufficient of the dilute acid, however, is drawn by capillary attraction into the constricted end It of the leg f", througlr whichelectric connection with the mercury is established. Upon the passage of a current from mercury to dilute acid displacement takes place in the same direction, resulting in a flow of the mercury from the leg f which thereafter falls through the perforation I), which may be slightly'larger than the constricted end of the said leg f This mercury during its further descent is caused to bridge a break 12 in the relay-circuit p, and so close it. Instead of the terminals of the relay-circuit being arranged as shown in Fig. 1 they may be interleaved, as shown in Fig. 2. The mercury that is thus delivered falls into a. reservoir 1, in which is located a float f, provided with an upwardlyextending member f, that is pivoted to a suitably-fulcrumed lever. f to whose opposite extremity is connected adisplacer f", located in chamber a. As the mercury flows into the reservoir f the float f is raised, and the displacery" is lowered so that the level of the mercury 41 in the chamber 0 is maintained.

It is obvious that we may employ two or more capillary elements in order that a larger quantity of mercury may be delivered or dis placed when a current passes through the apparatus.

What we claim as ourinvention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. In electrocapillary apparatus. the combination of two contiguous tubes, containing diiferent fluids, means for sending an-electric 'ditio n;of tlie'said liqiiidapermitting one of Correction in Letters Patent No. 798,482.

It is hereby certified that in Letters Patent No. 798,432, granted August 29, 1905, upon the application of James Tarbotton Armstrong and Axel Orling of Londori, England, for an improvement in Eleotrocapiflary Apparatus, an error appears in the printed specification requiring oorreetiomas follows: In the heading the words and figures Application filed February 2, 1904, should. read Original application filed May 19, 1902. Serial No. 108,189. Divided and this application filed February 2, 1.904; and that the said Letters Patent should be read with this correction therein that the same may conform to the record 01 the ease in the Patent O fice.

Signed and sealed this 7th day of November, A. D., 1905.

[SEAL] F. I. ALLEN,

Commissioner of Patents. 

